Engineering Superintendent - Production

At Cheniere, we provide the world with safe, reliable energy. But more than that, we provide opportunities for our talented employees to impact their communities every day. Our diversity is key to our continued success and forges a path where our culture supports greater equity and inclusion for our employees, customers, and beyond.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Engineering Superintendent, Production reports to the Manager, Production and is responsible for leading the Production Engineering team working with the Production/Operations, Maintenance, Gas Supply, Commercial Operations, Environmental, Accounting, Engineering Services, and Process Services departments to assist in the management and optimization of the LNG and Regasification (SPL only) Facilities. 

This would include but not be limited to supporting the maintenance of facility production capacity curves, tactical plant optimization and monitoring tools specific to all sections of the LNG facility, supporting the maintenance of a facility loss accounting tool, Production Forecasting, assisting with Supply Chain Management, management of departmental KPIs, Production Reporting, and coordination of supply of catalysts, refrigerants and chemicals needed to operate the facility. The Engineering Superintendent, Production will also provide mentoring and direction to other staff as needed. 

RESPONSIBILITIES AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Manage the Production Engineering Team and oversee the team’s execution of the following responsibilities,

• Initiate and support the development of systems and processes that drive operational excellence within the Production team. 

• Facilitate access approvals and maintenance activities for applications including, Shiploading Logbooks, PI, CCLEAR and CFAR.

• Participate in regulatory agency, accounting and internal audits. 

• Support procedure development and training related to capital projects, temporary or new modes of operation, and compliance. 

• Reinforce safety and environmental awareness through frequent job observations and by interfacing with plant personnel. 

• Work with Engineering and Construction department to assure O & M interests are represented on major projects. 

• Work with Production during 2-year reviews of procedures. 

• Support turnaround planning organization to develop an optimized turnaround execution strategy.

• Demonstrate thorough understanding of the Operational (Quantities, Scheduling, Quality, Measurement) aspects of the Sale and Purchase agreement and Gas Supply Tariffs.

• Manage components of the department budget.

• Coach, mentor, and lead the Production Engineering team.

Production Reporting

• Perform daily Energy Balances and review daily Production Loss Reporting and Ship Loading Reports.

• Provide monthly Energy Balance close documentation to corporate business teams.

• Develop, measure, and report against departmental KPIs.

• Prepare Production performance summaries summarizing data on total production, capacity utilization, operating reliability, unit efficiency, production loss categories and quantities, and energy utilization. This includes Inlet Feed Gas measurement and allocation, LNG/NGL Production, Emissions and Waste measurements, and Efficiency monitoring. 

• Develop tools to quantify facility emissions to support environmental and compliance reporting.

• Accountable for developing, maintaining and utilization of appropriate tools used to calculate and track flared quantities to ensure compliance with Environmental Regulatory requirements.

Production Forecasting & Scheduling

• Develop and utilize forecasting and scheduling tools and communicate with Commercial Operations and Gas Supply so that daily, monthly, and annual production requirements can be set. Utilizing these tools, advise Production Management of limitations or deficiencies that may impact production.  

• Monitoring and ordering of catalyst, chemicals and refrigerants needed to operate and  manage the facility. Provide forecasts and historical allocations for proficient financial accounting. Manage relationships and contracts with suppliers.

• Develop strategies to minimize downtime and provide input into maintenance plans including the alignment of maintenance events across the supply chain.

• Monitor LNG inventories and provide guidance to both Marine and Commercial Operations on appropriate loading times. Communicate risk of curtailments due to high inventories when appropriate and develop curtailment plans, that minimize net production impacts, when necessary.

Production Optimization and Support

• Participate in daily strategy planning with Production management and work to optimize production, and ensure safe, reliable operation. 

• Develop and utilize optimization tools that monitor process efficiency and make improvement recommendations that will increase productivity. 

• Perform evaluations to understand and quantify the impacts of production upsets and initiatives. Develop tools to monitor, predict and mitigate the impact of operating limitations.

• Support plant Production personnel in troubleshooting process issues and concerns. 

• Interact with Engineering Services and Process Services engineers to define problems that need further study, design and carry out tests in the interest of enhancing production or solving process problems, and identify potential tie-ins for capital projects. 

• Thoroughly understand the technical Management of Change (MOC) process and utilize it in support of facility changes. 

• Develop and maintain a list of production/value optimization strategies and engage with Production Superintendents, Engineering Services, Maintenance and Process Services to deliver against these strategies. 

• Participate in Pre-Startup Safety Reviews (PSSR) and Process Hazard Analysis (PHAs)

• The duties and responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list and additional tasks may be assigned to the employee from time to time; or the scope of the job may change as necessitated by business demands. 

  • Strong leadership and administrative abilities are required.
  • Exceptional teamwork skills.
  • Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills. 
  • Proficient in creating and delivering technical presentations to a diverse audience.
  • An acute sensitivity to safety issues in a hazardous environment.
  • Exceptional written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills.  
  • Ability to communicate effectively at all levels of an organization and with individuals and groups from different disciplines, industries and governmental agencies. 
  • Able to work with a culturally diverse group of technical individuals whose skills cover the range required to engineer, operate and maintain the LNG terminal and Liquefaction production facilities.
  • Possess the personality and ability to relate to and to establish a mutually respectful relationship with 1) management, 2) peers and 3) the various facility level workers (Plant Manager, plant supervision and plant workers) whom are all responsible for ensuring good operations.
  • Organized; planning skills; able to manage multiple activities and programs in timely fashion and with a high degree of accuracy; able to meet work deadlines.  
  • Exceptional problem solving and analytical skills.  
  • Accomplished public speaker, able to create and deliver industry-specific presentations.  
  • Computer savvy including Microsoft Office Suite including Word, Excel, Access, Project and PowerPoint. 
  • Proficient using Sigmafine, PI Vision, PI System Explorer and Aspen Hysys is a plus.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS:

Knowledge: Understands all facets of Feed Gas allocation, and LNG/NGL production, storage, and shipping, including health, safety, governmental regulations, and associated codes and standards.  Understands the principles of fluid flow, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and hydrocarbon process chemistry as applied to an operating process unit.  Familiar with the hazards of hydrocarbon processes and the methods used to keep process facilities safe.   

 Skills:

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Education and Certifications: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or Process/Chemical Engineering required.  A Professional Engineer’s (PE) License is a plus.
• Experience:Ten (10) years’ experience as a Production Engineer or Process Engineer in an LNG Liquefaction Facility is preferred. Other Process related experience in petrochemical, NGL, cryogenic natural gas processing, or other hydrocarbon processing experience is a plus.

DIRECT REPORTS

Production Engineers and Production Schedulers are direct reports to this position.

FREEDOM TO ACT

The Engineering Superintendent, Production requires minimal supervision.

WORK CONDITIONS

• Job is performed in an industrial plant environment.  
• Regularly, work will be performed from home, after normal work hours or on weekends. 
• Limited travel required, as business conditions dictate. 
• Subject to drug and alcohol testing, per applicable federal regulations or as required by Cheniere. 
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is often required to stand, walk, sit, climb stairs, work at height above ground on stairs and catwalks, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk or hear, smell, type and write.  
• Must be able to board a ship via a gangway, climb to the top of a tank (200+ steps), scale vertical steel ladder up to forty feet or more in height and lift and move objects weighting up to 50 pounds. 
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will work indoors and outdoors, and be exposed to year-around weather conditions, ocean environment, and noise. There is a considerable amount of outdoor activities involved. 
• Specific vision abilities required include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and the ability to adjust focus. 
• Required to pass regularly scheduled physical examinations mandated by regulatory authorities. 
• Required to obtain mandated certification by attending Company-sponsored training in basic first aid, CPR, and LNG firefighting.
• Must maintain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) card in good standing status. 

ADA JOB REQUIREMENTS:

Reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure that the essential functions of the job can be performed and not hinder the employee's performance due to physical, mental or emotional disability.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

Cheniere Energy is an equal opportunity workplace. All employment decisions are made without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other legally protected categories. This includes providing reasonable accommodation if requested for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices.